This disclosure relates to an automotive ball screw rack assembly for positioning a road wheel in an automotive steering system.
It is known to provide ball bushing bearings that make it possible to obtain friction free linear motion of a shaft along with resistance to torque, torque drive and rotary positioning. An anti-friction rolling key may be formed by the balls of the ball bushing bearings running in a groove of the shaft and a groove of the ball bushing bearing plate which is adjusted radially. For torque resistance, one or more shafts and a plurality of ball bushing bearings may support a carriage subject to an offset load. Torque drive of housings, mounted on the ball bushing bearings and shaft, is permitted by simple rotation of the shaft or by simple rotation of the housings. For rotary positioning, the combination of ball bushing bearings mounted on the shaft enables rotary positioning for linear motion. Partial revolution of the shaft rotates the housing or partial revolution of the housing rotates the shaft.
An automotive ball screw rack assembly for positioning a road wheel is presented. The assembly comprises an actuator housing; a ball screw disposed within the actuator housing; at least one tie rod assembly connected to the ball screw and the road wheel; and a motor coupled to the ball screw and connected to the actuator housing for controlling the disposition of the ball screw within the actuator housing.